---
title: "How to setup Schedules"
description: "Build panel Schedules from the cron minute, hour and day fields, then chain console commands, power actions and backups with delays for warned restarts."
url: "https://www.gameserverkings.com/knowledge-base/general/how-to-setup-schedules/"
category: "General"
category_url: "https://www.gameserverkings.com/knowledge-base/general/"
published: "2026-04-10T01:07:18.616Z"
updated: "2026-07-31T23:04:35.508Z"
source_format: "markdown"
site: "GameServerKings"
---

# How to setup Schedules

Schedules automate your server: restarts at 4 AM, nightly backups, warning messages before maintenance, all running whether you are awake or not.

## Creating a Schedule

1. Open your [game server](/games/) in the panel and go to the **Schedules** tab.

2. Click **Create Schedule** and name it (for example, "Nightly Restart").

3. Set when it runs using the cron fields: minute, hour, day of month, month, and day of week. An asterisk means every.

4. Save the schedule, then add tasks to it.

Common timings:

| Goal | Minute | Hour | Day of Week |
|------|--------|------|-------------|
| Every day at 4 AM | 0 | 4 | * |
| Every 6 hours | 0 | */6 | * |
| Sundays at 5 AM | 0 | 5 | 0 |

## Adding Tasks

Each schedule runs one or more tasks in order. A task is one of three actions: **send a command** to the console, **send a power action** (start, stop, restart, kill), or **create a backup**. Tasks can be delayed relative to the previous one, which is how you build polite restarts:

1. Send command: a server-appropriate broadcast like "Restarting in 5 minutes"
2. Send command (delay 240 seconds): "Restarting in 1 minute"
3. Send power action (delay 60 seconds): Restart

> [!TIP] Warn before you restart
> The two-message pattern above is the difference between automation your players appreciate and automation they complain about.

> [!NOTE]
> The "only when server is online" toggle keeps a schedule from starting a server you intentionally stopped.

## Good Schedules to Have

- A daily restart during your quietest hour; most game servers benefit from one.
- A daily backup just before the restart; see [How to Create a Backup](/knowledge-base/general/how-to-create-a-backup/).
- Game-specific automation where it matters; Rust owners should see [Setting Up Automatic Schedules](/knowledge-base/rust/setting-up-automatic-schedules/) for the wipe-day patterns.
- Games with no autosave of their own need a scheduled save command; [Manage and Troubleshoot an Unturned Server](/knowledge-base/unturned/maintenance/) covers that case.

## Common Issues

- **The schedule never fires**: check the cron fields against the table above; a common slip is putting the hour in the minute field.
- **Tasks fire out of order**: delays are relative to the previous task, not the schedule start; add them up.

---

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